When Life Begins at 5:
A New Wake-Up Call

From electricity usage to toilet flushing, the numbers show sleep-deprived Americans are getting up even earlier

By

John Jurgensen

Updated March 25, 2006 12:01 a.m. ET

The lights in America are going on an hour earlier.

As people prepare for the annual hour of sleep deprivation that comes next week with the arrival of daylight-saving time, a broader shift in wake-up times is taking place.

By a wide variety of indicators, from electricity usage to water consumption, more U.S. households are starting their days before dawn. In the last six years, PJM Interconnection, which supplies electricity...